#BlackLivesMatter

If when I say “black lives matter” it threatens your feeling of being a part, you have just had a taste of exclusion. Now that you have experienced it, I will not invalidate your feelings. Please do not invalidate my experience as a black person in the United States of America.

From the slave patrols to the KKK, the police force in the USA has had a bloody history and there are people who hide within the blue to do dirt. There are also people who hide within board rooms, employment offices, financial institutions and other places who covertly exercise their option to not see me as worthy and only because of what they think I might be.

Those police, business owners, government agents and bankers who do choose to serve the public fairly are tarnished by those who do not. I do not assume they are all “that way” either because I know better.

The only thing that keeps those who do not from continuing what they do is the law, which forces them to do what is against their core beliefs. They feel trapped and cornered and nowadays they roam the streets screaming for Donald trump to be elected so they can “make America great again” – before it was “take our country back” – and if you will forgive me, I feel threatened by these statements since I was not allowed to relieve myself or drink from a fountain anywhere I wanted in this country when I was a little girl.

I have been told to my face the apartment is not available, only to call 5 minutes later and find out it is, I have been told by someone in a shop that he was not going to serve me, I have had a racist boss try to file a false accusation against me in order to keep me from pursuing a better job and get beat down by his own white friend who told me about it.

They walk among us. If you are not one of them, try to empathize and stop trying to shut me up. #blacklivesmatter on #blackutopialane

Let’s take it further – I just read an excellent statement that could explain why the huge pushback on “Black Lives Matter” or any movement that seeks to elevate a group that does not enjoy the rights and privileges usually expected by everyone (via The Boeskool blog)

“All this anger we see from people screaming “All Lives Matter” in response to black protesters at rallies… All this anger we see from people insisting that THEIR “religious freedom” is being infringed because a gay couple wants to get married… All these people angry about immigrants, angry about Muslims, angry about “Happy Holidays,” angry about not being able to say bigoted things without being called a bigot… They all basically boil down to people who have grown accustomed to walking straight at other folks, and expecting THEM to move. So when “those people” in their path DON’T move… When those people start wondering, “Why am I always moving out of this guy’s way?” When those people start asking themselves, “What if I didn’t move? What if I just kept walking too?” When those people start believing that they have every bit as much right to that aisle as anyone else… It can seem like THEIR rights are being taken away.” (read the entire article)